KINGSTON — Nov. 2, 2026 — Kingston Intermediate School needs no state assistance after making substantial progress toward its improvement targets, school officials told the School Committee on Monday, though fewer than half of students in grades 3 to 6 met or exceeded expectations in English language arts.
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MCAS results. Kingston Intermediate School Principal Kerri Whipple presented the 2026 MCAS results. According to the presentation and the discussion, the school reached 50% progress toward its improvement targets, described as substantial progress, and a school accountability percentile of 52. Those are separate measures from the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations.
In ELA, the presentation’s grade-level slides show 53% of third graders and 44% of sixth graders meeting or exceeding expectations, with fourth and fifth grades lower. The overall figure for grades 3 to 6 is reported as 44% on one slide and 45% on a summary slide; the presentation does not say which is correct. Principal Whipple said the 44% is not where the school wants to be, but that KIS beat the state by 6 points in meeting or exceeding and had fewer students not meeting expectations. In grade 5 science, the presentation shows 46% meeting or exceeding in 2026, down from 62% in 2025.
Chair Megan Cannon asked about a drop in ELA results from third to fourth grade that recurs every year. Whipple said fourth grade has more standards but that this is not an excuse, and that grade-level teams now hold monthly community meetings and data meetings three times a year.
Officials described the school’s response: Orton-Gillingham phonics training for teachers, the Wonders literacy curriculum, a new math curriculum and more consistent tiered support. Assistant Superintendent Tricia Clifford said the state has added question types for grades 3 to 5 and released practice tests and rubrics the district will share with principals.
Jennifer Krowchun said the state standard is low and the goal should be to do much better than the state. Peter Fitzgerald said some older students treat MCAS as unimportant now that it is no longer a graduation requirement.
